The Good Shepherd

Jeremiah 3:15

Jeremiah 3:15 ESV

15 “ ‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

Prayer

Dear Gracious Lord,

You are the giver of every good gift. You are our sustainer, our provider, our God in whom we trust. As we face these times at hand in our church, Lord, we pray for your guidance. Lord, you have given me this message to deliver today in order to comfort, strengthen, educate, and shepherd your flock here in this congregation. Father, shut me up and move me out of the way. Fill me, Holy Spirit, and fill me so thoroughly that the words I bring forth today would not be mine but yours, O Lord. Move me out of the way so that the saints of Master’s Baptist Church would be edified and filled, filled with the reassurance that you will not leave this congregation wandering with no direction but rather you will lead us in seeking and calling our new shepherd to pasture this flock that we may be salt and light to this town and far beyond. And it is in the name above all names, the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Our Savior, and Our Good Shepherd that we pray, Amen.

We find ourselves at the Master’s Baptist Church in a difficult, sometimes confusing, perhaps even anxiety provoking times.

But before I get into the details of what we should be looking for in our next pastor, I ant us to look back for just a moment and thank God.

You see, we are in a rather unique situation in the Southern Baptist tradition in that we have not been faced with this challenge of calling a new minister in over 21 years.

That is nearly unprecedented in many churches. And I want us to just reflect for a moment on what a blessing that has been.

For many in this church, Todd was the only pastor they have ever known at Master’s.

In fact, for several of the congregation, Todd was the only pastor that you have ever known.

But rather lament on losing the man who has filled this pulpit for so long, I want us to just take a moment to thank God that we have known such peace, and unity, and blessings.

Because trust me folks, it is truly a blessing to have that.

As many of you know, while I was in the military I was on the equivalent of the deacon board as we called a new pastor, lost him less than two years later when he abruptly quit, fracturing the church.

And I stayed during the year plus of the interim pastor and the calling of the new Senior Pastor only to have him last less than two years before being forced out of the church due to his personal ethical shortcomings.

So needless to say, unfortunately, I have some real experience in searching for a shepherd for the flock of a local congregation.

I presume that is, at least in part, why I was asked to prepare this message for you today.

And I must admit that this has not been the easiest sermon to prepare.

And part way through this week, when I was really struggling to put my many thoughts on the topic down on paper, I thought to myself, “Self”, cause that’s what I call myself when I’m talking to myself.

I said, “Self, when in doubt, what should you always do?”

And the answer came to me by the Holy Spirit, start where God did, in the Old Testament with His chosen people.

So that is precisely how we will start, in the Old Testament, and then move as we do, to the New Testament and the utmost revelation of God in the God-Man Jesus Christ.

Now, I will fully admit that this is much more of a teaching sermon rather than one that will stir the soul and get a lot of “Amens”.

But that’s ok, because at times, we need more teaching than others, and I truly believe this is one of those times.

Which brings me to Sermon Outline #1.

I. A PASTOR WILL SHEPHERD THE FLOCK TO WHICH HE IS CALLED.

Let’s look again at our passage, take a journey through the scriptures in what the Bible says about being a pastor, and unpack what we can learn from that in our own search.

But before we do, you may be asking yourself why I would title this sermon “The Good Shepherd.”

Stick with me and I promise you I’ll get you there.

Jeremiah 3:15 ESV

15 “ ‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

Now anyone who is versed in the Old Testament knows that the theme of shepherding is imbedded in nearly every bit of the Old Testament.

We will start in Genesis:

One of the earliest scenes in the Bible comes when the flocks of Abraham and his relative Lot were so large that they parted ways because their flocks were so large that the same land could not accommodate them both.

Later, as God’s people had been led into Egypt by a famine where Joseph, the favored son of Jacob, was second in command only to Pharaoh.

And the Bible teaches us that the people were sent to the land of Goshen when they settled there because they were shepherds and that was an abomination to the Egyptians.

So you see, from very early in their existence, the Israelites were shepherds of the flocks.

Even Moses, when he fled Egypt became a shepherd as is described in Exodus 3: 1

Exodus 3:1 ESV

1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

This, of course, was the passage right before the burning bush, where God revealed His sacred name to Moses.

As time went on, the Israelites were not satisfied with God being their king and wanted an earthly king.

And after Saul failed to follow the commands of God spoken of by the prophet Samuel, Samuel was tasked with naming David as the new anointed King of Israel.

2 Samuel 7:8 ESV

8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.

And we are told in 1 Samuel 13:14 that David was a “man after God’s own heart.”

So you see here, the wording is identical in the 1 Samuel and Jeremiah passages.

We then turn to the 23rd Psalm, written by King David, where he of course says:

Psalm 23:1–3 ESV

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Which brings me to the next passage, and that is in Ezekiel 34.

Beginning in verse 11

Ezekiel 34:11–12 ESV

11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

Ezekiel 34:15–16 ESV

15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Ezekiel 34:22–24 ESV

22 I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.

Of course here, when God says that “my servant David shall be the prince” after having said in verse 15 that “I [God] myself will be shepherd of my sheep”, God is talking about none other than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Right now, you may be thinking to yourself, “Where is this fool going with this?”

Give me just one more minute and I’ll get you there.

Now turn with me to the book of John, Chapter 10, starting in verse 11.

Jesus says:

John 10:11 ESV

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

And again in verses 14-17

John 10:14–17 ESV

14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

And this brings me to my final verse.

Ephesians 4 says in Verse 11 “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers”

Now before I finalize my point here, I want to remind y’all of one thing here: In the time of Jesus and Paul, the Jews were primarily reading the Old Testament not in Hebrew but in Greek by way of the translation known as the Septuagint. And of course, the New Testament itself was written in Greek.

And this is the key, because you see church, in every one of these passages: in Exodus 3, 1 Samuel 13, 2 Samuel 7, Psalm 23, Jeremiah 3, Ezekiel 34, and John 10, the word used in each instance where our English translation reads “Shepherd” is the Greek word ποιμένας (poimēn).

And it just so happens that the word translated as “pastor” in Ephesians 4 is also the Greek word poimēn.

And the Latin word for the Greek poimēn is PASTOR.

What is my point?

Jesus, our great high priest, is the Good Shepherd. The shepherd par excellence.

But the pastor is biblically mandated to shepherd the flock that God has given him.

But what does it really MEAN to shepherd the flock?

Three things:

Pastors, as Shepherds of God’s people, TEND their flock.

This means that the shepherd must deeply care for those under his watch!

He is the one primarily tasked with guiding the sheep, protecting them, and attending to their needs.

He must demonstrate commitment to the well-being of other people.

As our own By Laws state: The pastor, in order to shepherd God’s people must:

Provide short-term counseling where needed, and to be comfortable nurturing individuals as well as with overall church community care.

1. Make himself available to persons in need, particularly those in crisis situations.

2. Make regular visits to the hospital, nursing homes, and homes of the sick and shut-in

3. Make pastoral visits to and maintain regular contact with members and friends of the congregation.

4. Maintain appropriate confidentiality.

Pastors, as Shepherds of God’s people, feed the flock with KNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTANDING.

This means the next pastor must have not only a strong knowledge of the Bible, but he must also be able to analyze and dissect the text of the Bible.

He must have a strong, broad theological base, expanded by current readings, and use that base to inspire and inform our congregation.

In addition to preaching, the new pastor must be able to teach the Bible to our congregation.

He must use Sunday services as a teaching opportunity and also to offer classes in areas where he has special knowledge and enthusiasm.

He must must fear the Lord, and be willing and able to live by the principles laid out in the book of Proverbs for as it says:

Proverbs 1:7 (ESV)

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

And the man of God who fills this pulpit should, as God put it in Proverbs 2:

Proverbs 2:1–12 (ESV)

1 … receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,

2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;

3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,

4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,

5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

8 guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.

9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path;

10 for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

11 discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you,

12 delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech,

That, my friends, is the kind of man that you want o fill this pulpit!!!

Pastors, as Shepherds of God’s people, EQUIP the flock to go out into a lost and dying world.

We live in a lost and dying world.

And it seems to become more lost and dying faster day by day.

The man of God that is called to shepherd this congregation is to strive to reach the lost souls of this community.

He should have an emphasis on growing the body of believers and members of this church.

He should present opportunities for and lead the congregation in service to the community through participation in projects and local issues of concern.

He should lead not only the Master’s Baptist Church but also the town of Whitmire in fulfilling the Great Commission by making disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

With that, I will move on to Sermon Outline #2.

II. PASTORS MUST MEET CERTAIN BIBLICAL TRAITS.

Now I went through a great deal of time and trouble bringing you to the biblical understanding of where we get the word Pastor from.

But I also need to explain one thing to you about this title.

There are actually three words in the New Testament that are essentially synonymous and which all describe the Pastor of a church.

The first, as we have already learned is the Greek word poimēn which is translated as PASTOR, such as in Ephesians 4.

The Second is found in 1 Timothy 3:1

1 Timothy 3:1 (ESV)

1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.

The Greek word for overseer is ἐπισκοπῆς (episkopēs), which is also the word from which the English word Episcopal comes.

The final one is the Greek word πρεσβυτέρους (presbyterous) which is translated as elder.

This is found in passages such as Titus 1:5

Titus 1:5 (ESV)

5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—

I should note, by the way that in his letter to Titus, Paul makes it very clear that the words elder and overseer are to be understood as the same thing.

Look at what he says here:

Titus 1:5–7 (ESV)

5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—

6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.

7 For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,

There are 16 total qualifications that Paul lays out in Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3 that one must meet in order to be considered as an elder, overseer, pastor, or shepherd of a flock.

Now I will not go through all of them, but I do encourage you all to go back and read these two passages to fully understand the qualification for pastor.

The pastor must be “above reproach” and “respectable”

I have already talked about how the pastor is to be an under-shephard to Christ’s church.

He is to emulate Christ in all he does.

in his words, in his actions, and in his INTERACTIONS with others.

The man of God that is to stand in this pulpit week in and week out is to so shine forth the love of Christ, that all in the community should say of him “Now that is a Godly man!”

In short, the man of God for this church, though never sinless himself, should seek to so conform himself to Christ by the Power of the Holy Spirit that he is to be respected by one and all.

He must “self-controlled”, “not violent”, and “not quarrelsome.”

As I mentioned at the beginning of this sermon, I was involved in a church that was pastored by a man that abruptly left the church.

And I will tell you that I have not met a pastor before or since that was more quick tempered and lacked self-control more than he did.

Don’t get me wrong, he was a brilliant preacher.

His entire sermon every week was done completely by memory.

And his insight into the Bible was excellent.

But he was quarrelsome, and quick tempered.

And his actions fractured a church of over 300 people, and I never saw the church recover after three years.

Make no mistake, the pastor this church calls should follow the command of James when he says:

James 1:19 ESV

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

The pastor must “Manage his own household well” and “care for God’s church”

At first, this trait may seem kind of out of place.

But I want to remind you what the Apostle Paul says about the man as the leader of his home.

Paul commands the man to love his wife just as Christ loves the church because marriage is actually a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church.

Thus, a man who can manage his own household well can then be trusted to care for God’s church.

Because the Bible teaches that those who have been faithful over little will be given charge over much more.

He must be “able to teach”

The Apostle Paul himself was such a great example of this.

Over and over the book of Acts describe Paul as going into the local synagogues and teaching and explaining from the scriptures how Christ fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of Christ.

Another example is that of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch where Philip taught the eunuch from the book of Isaiah in such a moving way that the eunuch immediately believed and asked to be baptised.

Even our own By Laws

Encourage qualified individuals to offer educational and support group leadership in a vigorous program of adult education.

and encourage the pastor to take a direct interest in the children and youth of the congregation.

Finally, the pastor must “not be a recent convert.”

The only time in scripture that we see a new convert teaching is when Paul begins teaching shortly after his Damascus road experience.

But we should recall that Paul was no ordinary convert.

He was a Jew of Jews.

A Pharisee trained under the great Gamaliel. .

Well versed in the Old Testament.

And most importantly, he had a direct revelation from Jesus!

No, the next pastor must be battle proven and time tested.

He must be mature in his faith, not easily shaken, and not subject to the influences of the world or progressive thought.

Finally:

III. THE NEXT PASTOR MUST BE A GOOD FIT FOR THIS CHURCH.

Out By Laws, guided by the Scriptures, teach us what the new pastor should believe.

In fact, we have been going over the biblical basis for these beliefs on Sunday nights.

It is ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE that the new shepherd of this flock believe in the fundamental principles that have governed this church since its inception!

Admittedly it is sad I need to spell this out. But in todays church, with the rapid rise of progressive Christianity and the creeping into God’s church so many alternative “gospels” I feel is is imperative that each candidate be examined for his beliefs according to the following:

God is infinitely perfect and He exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The triune God is the creator and sustainer of all things, the source of all truth, and is worthy of worship, confidence, and obedience.

Jesus Christ is the virgin-born eternal Son of God. That he became man without ceasing to be God, to reveal God and to redeem mankind from sin. That he died a cruel death at Calvary as he died for the sins of all people as a substitutionary sacrifice. That he arose bodily from the dead for our justification. Finally, that He is now exalted at the right hand of God as Head of the Church.

He must believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, that He convicts the world of sin and regenerates the believing sinner, baptizing him into the church (which is the Body of Christ). That He indwells, guides, instructs, and empowers believers for godly living and service.

He should believe that all 66 books of the combined Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired by God. That the Bible is inerrant and infallible and is the Christian’s final authority in faith and conduct.

He should believe that salvation is God’s free gift. Salvation is neither merited nor secured in part or in whole by any human virtue, work, ceremony, or effort. That God’s gift is only through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

He should believe that God created man in his image. But man sinned, incurring not only physical death, but also spiritual death (separation from God, which all people inherit from Adam). That man is subject to Satan’s power; and that man, within himself, has no means of recovery or salvation.

He should believe in the personal, imminent, and premillennial coming of our Lord. First, He will come to receive his own to himself; later, He will set up his earthly Kingdom and reign over redeemed Israel. At that time Christ will also reign over all the nations, bringing peace and blessing to the world.

He should believe that the souls of those who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation immediately pass into his presence at death. There they remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of our bodies at Christ’s coming for His Church. Then, with our souls reunited with our glorified bodies, we will live with Him forever in his glory. That God will punish unbelievers with everlasting separation from His presence, His glory, and His power.

He should believe that Satan is a person, a fallen angel, the author of the fall of man, and the god of this age. However, that Satan is also the Christian’s defeated enemy. His destiny is eternal punishment.

He should believe that Adam, the first man, sinned by disobedience. This act resulted in the fall of all mankind. Therefore, all people have sinned and lost their ability to live for the glory of God. Mankind’s fall has incurred both physical and spiritual death on all until there is forgiveness and salvation by the grace of God.

He should believe as we do that God has created the institution of marriage as the union of one man and one woman who are to unite to become one flesh in God’s eyes . That God has given parents the responsibility to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. That a consistent education will occur when home, Church, and school work closely together and are in agreement in the basic concepts of life. That the definition of male and female is defined as genetically born as male or genetically born as female. The Bible is clear that God formed and created at conception and made manifest at birth each person as male or female. Further, it is impossible for any other relationship to fulfill the clear command of the Scriptures to be fruitful and multiply to replenish the earth. And that homosexuality is a sin as is transgenderism.

And Finally, he should believe as we do that Jesus Christ gave the Church two visible symbols (called “ordinances”) as reminders. These two ordinances are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism by immersion is an act of obedience and identification with Jesus as Lord through obedience to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It serves as an outward sign of conscious confession of repentance and faith and is required for Church membership. The Lord’s Supper is an ongoing symbol remembering our Lord’s death, burial, resurrection, and promised return.

Now, one practical point here, and then I will close.

The candidates who have expressed interest to answer the call to shepherd this flock must meet all of these criteria.

But that is not something you can figure out in one meeting, or one sermon, or one zoom call.

No, the search committee, supported by the deacons, must do their due diligence.

They must put in the labor.

They must as the tough questions even if it is uncomfortable to ask them.

They must question the pastoral candidate, his colleagues, his church, his pastor, and his references.

They must take their time and find the RIGHT man of God and not the easy way out.

And the deacons and the congregation must support them in finding the right shepherd lest the sheep be scattered and the church be left once again without a shepherd to tend the flock.

CLOSING PRAYER